Silver and Gold
by Mara Lea
Summary: A failure in the Metathran Project gives Karn an opportunity he never could have imagined.


Barrin was at a loss. What could have gone wrong with this metathran? Could they have used too much human genetic material? None of the others from this batch seemed to show any unusual traits, but this was, after all, a brand new experiment. One never knew what troubles there might be.

Still, he could think of no reasonable explanation for this single subject to be so different. Whereas all their metathran had little will of their own, this one was, for all intents and purposes, completely brain dead. Oh, sure, there was enough function to keep the body alive, but it was unresponsive to any stimulus. On top of that, it was neither quite so tall nor as slim as its kin. Not a very significant difference, but it was only a few inches too tall to be an average human man and had quite well-defined muscles. Perhaps most unusual of all, it was not only masculine in form; it was truly _male_.

XXX

As was often the case, Urza was too distracted to have much to say on the matter, "There is no need to be concerned with one failure in a batch that, overall, has shown favorable results. Just put it in stasis with the others."

Barrin supposed the man was right, yet something seemed special about this one. And then it hit him: though it was by no means the only one present, among the glyphs that decorated this metathran's chest and shoulders was one of the few Barrin could recognize. It was the Thran word for mighty, pronounced "karn."

For days, Barrin could think of little else. It seemed foolish to fall prey to thoughts of destiny and mysticism. But the project Urza himself was working on was meant to create that very thing. He was attempting to breed a warrior destined to destroy Phyrexia and had _already_ changed time itself. Was it so farfetched to think that, just maybe, this mutant metathran had been _meant_ to hold the soul of the silver golem? He decided to offer up the choice.

XXX

Karn was reluctant to accept Barrin's proposal. It would make him weaker, more easily damaged, and susceptible to aging and illness; he would be mortal. Leaving his metal body behind in favor of one of flesh and blood frightened him.

It also felt too much like being decommissioned, like being told he was no longer useful. The master mage assured him that wasn't the case, there were many things he would still be able to help with. After all, Karn was quite intelligent and had an uncanny intuition about the use of artifacts. Though he would no longer be able to lift multiple tons of equipment on his own, he would most likely remain the strongest person on the island. In any case, he was his own man, not simply a tool to be used.

Then Barrin pointed out the one thing that had truly kept Karn from fitting in: he was too big, too heavy, and too strong to interact with other people the way they did with each other. He had to take care not to injure those he cared about. What would it be like to hug Jhoira the way he saw so many friends do all around him? That decided it for him.

XXX

Within the grand vault, Barrin worked at a specially altered machine. Its like had been created to encode and copy data on power crystals. This one would move everything that was Karn, his memories, his very soul, into the metathran body.

The two bodies lay side by side on identical work tables. A multitude of electrodes had been placed on the metathran's scalp, the blue-black wires standing out against silvery hair. Barrin stood at Karn's side telling him what would happen. "I'm afraid you will have to be deactivated for the procedure. I'll need to have access to your heart stone, and I can't risk accidentally damaging it, damaging you. There is no way I can tell you for sure what to expect once the transfer takes place. You are, after all, the only being here with your soul encoded on a crystal."

With that, he painstakingly executed the series of motions necessary to unlock the catch that would open the silver golem's face plate. Karn powered down, having faith that the mage would take care of him. Within minutes, Karn's heart was festooned with wires in a fashion similar to that of the metathran's head, and Barrin went back to the console from which he would conduct the transfer.

It wasn't an exchange of minds between bodies, as some might have assumed. These devices had been created only to move data from one crystal to another in a one-way process. In any case, there was no mind to be moved from the metathran's body; this was simply the transfer of one mind to a new body.

The master mage powered up the electrodes connected to each body before throwing the switch that would rewrite the humanoid brain with the heart of the silver man.

Karn awoke with a start. His head tingled, and static electricity crackled in his hair... He had hair! It had worked! Sensation flooded into the rest of his body. It wasn't as if he hadn't had the same senses in his previous body, but it seemed like there was somehow more detail now. Even an artificer as talented as Urza could do only so much with pressure-sensitive actuators to give a creature of metal a sense of touch. Of course, having no need to eat, he had had no sense of taste, but he was sure he would experience it within a few hours. Smell had also improved with the body change. Vision and hearing seemed unchanged; at least any difference was so negligible that it went unnoticed.

After the second or so that it took these thoughts to pass through his mind, Karn sat up on the table smiling broadly at Barrin. "It worked!" he laughed, "It worked!" His voice was different, but of course he should have expected it to change. It wasn't quite so low, but it was still a basso rumble. He realized the implications of the smile on his lips, something he hadn't considered before: his face could express his feelings now. It had been another thing that had set him apart from others, and it was fixed.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a question. "How do you feel?"

Karn replied, still grinning, "Excited. Overall, there isn't much difference in how I perceive my surroundings, but my sense of touch is much improved. I look forward to experiencing taste, though." As if on cue, his stomach rumbled.

"It would seem now is the time to test it," Barrin smiled.

XXX

Karn took little note of the stares he received throughout the day. Most of the students didn't know about the Metathran Project and probably took him for some far-away race they had never before seen, perhaps some type of merfolk. Those who did know of the project also knew of Master Barrin's successful attempt to transfer the golem's consciousness into the latest failed subject's body. In fact, several of them had assisted in the alteration of the crystal writing device that had been used in the procedure. In any case, within a few weeks everyone would grow accustomed to seeing him in his new body just as they had his silver body before.

As the day wore on, Karn found himself getting tired. Though he had always had his own room, he had rarely used it unless he had need of a quiet place to think. He returned now to the bed that had been empty since the new Tolarian Academy had been built.

XXX

It hadn't occurred to him at first, but Karn needed clothes. He had never worn them before, and at first he found them binding and strange. Once, only a few days after getting his new body, he had very nearly walked out into the halls in the nude. A blast of cool air as he opened his door reminded him that ambient temperature was no longer simply a piece of data, it could actually cause him discomfort. Since his rebirth, he had received several sets of simple shirts and trousers, a waistcoat, and two pairs of soft, knee-high boots. He never wore the waistcoat; it seemed to be of no practical use.

Today he was wearing a light gray shirt with deep blue pants and black boots. He liked this color combination with his new skin tone. It had taken quite some time to adjust to his new appearance, but after a few weeks had come and gone he stopped taking a second look every time he passed a reflective surface.

In fact, after he had gotten used to the drastic change in his appearance, Karn had come to like the way he looked. He was 6'4", significantly shorter than he had been before, but still at least half a head taller than nearly everyone else on the island. He was still much the same shape as before, with broad shoulders tapering down to narrower hips. His skin was pale blue now instead of silver, but his hair was nearly the same color as his body had once been.

Karn had nothing in particular to do at the moment, and had, after a period of adjustment, come to appreciate days when he was free to do as he pleased. After all, this change meant that he was no longer inexhaustible.

There was a ship load of new students arriving today, and he walked by the dock as they were debarking. He was always surprised by how young they looked. It wasn't so much the faces as it was the eyes that gave them away, especially now that Urza had begun accepting the odd adult student. Here on Tolaria, almost everyone appeared to be in his or her twenties or thirties, and nearly all had seen decades more than their faces suggested.

As Karn was turning to continue his aimless walk, he saw a familiar face from the corner of his eye. Among the students just leaving the ship was Jhoira, his best friend. He ran to her, calling her name in joy, then picked her up in his arms and spun her around, grinning like a fool.

Despite having no idea about the identity of the man who had spun her around, Jhoira couldn't help but smile a little; he was clearly happy to see her. "Do I know you?" she asked, supremely confused. She was certain she would have remembered meeting such a unique person. He was clearly a metathran. Had Urza decided they needed to be awoken already?

The man before her looked slightly abashed. "I'm sorry," he replied. "I'd forgotten you hadn't seen me yet. It's Karn."

Jhoira's eyes widened in amazement. "How? That's incredible," her voice was breathless with wonder at the ingenuity that had made such a thing possible.

"Master Barrin modified one of the crystal writers to read my heart stone and transfer my mind into a failed metathran."

"Why would he use a failure? What was wrong with it, he didn't put you in a dying body did he? That sounds more like something Urza would come up with." The mere thought made Jhoira angry.

"It's nothing like that," Karn assured his friend. "It had no brain activity. There were other unusual traits, I'm sure you can tell I'm not as tall or thin as the metathran are expected to be, but none of them were truly problems. The other notable difference was its being fully male. Nobody knows why, but this body was the only one in the batch that was affected."

Jhoira was impressed by the success of the transfer and glad it had actually worked. "I'll have to talk to him about it later. I have to get the details on this; it's amazing! But first," she said, "we have to get caught up. I've obviously missed a lot in the last few years."

The two old friends walked aimlessly as they talked. It seemed only an hour or two had passed when the sun began to set, and they were forced to return to the main building for dinner.

They continued to talk late into the night, and as they did, it struck Jhoira how nice it was to be able to see her dear friend's expressions on his face. It was wonderful to see Karn actually smile rather than to simply hear happiness in his voice as it had always been before.

At first, it had been strange seeing this new face in place of the silver man she had grown up with, indeed it made her feel a bit sad and nostalgic, but by the end of the day she felt as if nothing had changed. In truth, nothing had; this was most assuredly the same man she had known for so many decades.

As much as the two friends wanted to continue talking, they were both tiring. Like the gentleman he had always been, Karn walked Jhoira to her room. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said and wrapped her arms around him.

After all the years of his being unable to hug her back for fear of crushing her under his tremendous weight and strength, Jhoira was pleasantly surprised to feel Karn's arms tighten around her in a firm and comfortable hug. She found she didn't want to let go of him.

Karn held Jhoira close, unable to force himself to release her from their embrace. There had been so many times he had wanted to hold her, so many times when she had needed comfort that he couldn't give because of his huge metal body. Now she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, and he leaned his own against the top of her head, cradling her body with his.

It must have been a full minute the two stood there locked in their embrace. Neither could say who broke it, but Karn was the first to break the silence. "Goodnight, Jhoira," he said quietly.

"Goodnight, Karn," she returned in the same almost-whisper, brushing her lips against his cheek before turning and entering her room.

XXX

Karn needed a bath before he slept. It had been a long day, and he had spent most of it out in the sun. It wasn't that he smelled bad, but he felt unpleasantly sticky.

The warm water felt wonderful as it washed away tension from his shoulders and sweat from his skin. It wasn't worry that had cramped his neck. He had simply spent too much time leaning forward while he and Jhoira spoke. For that reason, even the ache couldn't ruin his mood.

Returning to his bed, Karn felt happy in a way he never had before. He had been sure he would fall asleep quickly in anticipation of another day with Jhoira tomorrow, but sleep wouldn't come. His thoughts were too active, replaying the day over and over again in his mind. When he came to the embrace at the end of the night, his breath caught in his throat. It all came back to him: the racing heart, the lightheadedness, his skin so sensitive he could have felt a mote of dust brush by. It couldn't be...

XXX

Closing the door behind herself, Jhoira stumbled to the bed and sat down before her knees could give out and spill her on the floor. How long had it had been since she had forced such feelings to the back of her mind?

Karn had a real body now; he could hold her. He had a real mouth. What would it be like to kiss those lips? He had been so warm and comforting as they held each other. It was true that he had been warm even as a silver golem, heated by the power crystal within him, but a flesh and blood body radiated that heat in a completely different way. His muscular chest and arms had been firm, yet they were yielding in a way metal never could be.

Jhoira raised a hand to her mouth and gently brushed her lips with one finger. She could still feel them tingling with the remembered sensation of kissing Karn's cheek. Now that he had a real body, there could be no denying her feelings for him.

There was no way she would be able to sleep tonight. She went to clear her head in a bath.

Thanks to talented artificers and mages, Tolaria was never at risk of running out of hot water for the baths. It was one of her favorite things about the island. The other was her best friend, the silver golem, Karn. But he wasn't a golem anymore. He was a man, a beautiful man. He had been beautiful as a golem too, but it was the beauty of an amazing, impossible, living machine. Now he was handsome and exotic with his pale blue skin, and silvery white hair, and eyes as deep and dark blue as the night sky.

She was going to make a fool of herself; she was supposed to have given up her childish dreams of romance when her first love tried to destroy the school and kill everyone in it. The problem was, ten years later, her soul mate really had sailed in to Tolaria as she watched from the shore. He just happened to be an old friend too.

XXX

Neither Karn nor Jhoira slept well that night, their heads too full for dreams. Nonetheless, they met each other for breakfast and packed a picnic basket. They planned to walk to the little cave Jhoira had loved so much as a student. The walk was long, but the view was beautiful. It was quiet, and peaceful, and private. Out there, they might as well have the entire island to themselves.

It was early afternoon when they reached the little niche in the side of the sandstone cliff. As expected, the cot, table, and pair of chairs were all in order; Karn came by this place on a regular basis and made sure it stayed welcoming.

After several hours of walking, both Jhoira and Karn were hungry. They pulled out fruits, bread, cheese, and water. For now the two were silent as they ate and watched the waves calmly lap the shore.

Their meal finished, Jhoira and Karn moved to the more comfortable seating the cot provided. For some time they simply sat side by side in comfortable silence. Karn broke the silence, "Do you remember the first time I found you here?"

Jhoira nodded, "Yes. There have been times when I've wished you had simply told Urza, or that Teferi had later on, about the castaway I had found."

"In a way," he replied, "that was when our friendship truly began. It was when we decided there would be no more secrets between us. I don't know if you heard me, because you were in a coma, but I've always admired your determination and strength of will. Even after you fell from the balloon and slept for ten years, I knew you would come back to us. You were the reason I kept fighting; if you could hang on, I couldn't just lie down and give up to the Phyrexians."

Jhoira was touched by Karn's words about her. She'd never really considered that her determination might keep others going too. She spoke softly, "I can think of nothing I appreciate more than your kindness, the way you always do your best to help others. I don't think I would have made it if you hadn't been there to talk to me every day. I _had_ to save Teferi, but you were the one I _wanted_ to see again."

Karn reached out a hand to cover Jhoira's, and she laced her fingers with his, still watching the endless motion of the sea. Minutes later, when she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, he scooted closer, disentangled his fingers from hers, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Leaning his cheek against the top of her head, Karn whispered, "I've always loved you, Jhoira, but I didn't even realize the _way_ I loved you was different from any other friend. Until I had this body of flesh and bone to tell me with its pounding heart, I didn't know how special my feelings for you were."

Jhoira was giddy with the lightheadedness this revelation had caused her. She raised her head to look into Karn's eyes, midnight blue eyes, and her own welled up with tears as she told him, "Oh, Karn, I love you too. Once Kerrick was uncovered, I was able to realize that you were the one who was special to me, who was always there for me. I couldn't bring myself to tell you though. It only would have made both of us hurt worse; with your metal body, there was no way for us to get any closer than we already were. You couldn't even hug me for fear of hurting me. It's so nice to finally be able to feel your arms around me."

As Jhoira finished speaking, she raised a hand to gently stroke Karn's cheek. Brushing her hand through his hair, it rested at the nape of his neck. His arms reached out and pulled her close, and their eyes slid shut as their lips met in a tender kiss. It lasted only moments, but both of them were flushed with the pounding of their hearts. They had been friends for so long, and now they finally had what they had both wanted all along.

Karn looked almost embarrassed, still shy with the newness of kissing. His cheeks and the tops of his ears had darkened to lavender with his fierce blush, but he gently pulled Jhoira down on top of him as he lay back on the cot in their little cavern. He ran his fingers through her hair, something he had never been able to do before for fear of tangling it in their joints. It was so soft, thick and heavy and beautiful. It trailed over his shoulders and brushed his cheeks as she came down over him, kissing him much more thoroughly this time.

Teeth gently pulled on lips, tongues softly caressing one another. Karn moaned against Jhoira's mouth as the new sensations washed over him. And there was another feeling he had never had before: a growing warmth tingling in his groin. Academically speaking, he knew what was happening, but this was a first for him. Having, until three months ago, been unequipped for such a thing, he was caught completely by surprise by the pleasure that shot through him when Jhoira's weight shifted atop him and brushed the growing bulge in his pants.

Jhoira moved down, placing soft kisses all along Karn's neck as her hands shakily but quickly unlaced his shirt. His new body was exquisite; well-muscled chest and shoulders bare, she could now see the tattoo-like scrolling designs of Thran glyphs in darkest blue. Her hands caressed the smooth skin, and Karn raised himself to remove the shirt before pulling Jhoira in for a heated kiss that left them both panting. His hips rolled up involuntarily, and he blushed again at his lack of restraint. With his shirt untucked and out of the way the sensation was even stronger.

Jhoira smiled gently and touched his cheek briefly before reaching up to remove her own top. Karn's breath caught in his throat as her shirt came off over her head and her olive skin gleamed like gold in the afternoon sun.

He pulled her down atop himself once more, this time feeling Jhoira's bare breasts against his naked chest, his hands caressing her back. She reached down between them and began unfastening Karn's pants. He let out a low moan at the feeling of her fingers gently brushing him through the thick fabric. He could feel the heat she radiated and wondered how similar her feeling of need must be.

Reaching his own hand out toward her, Karn softly brushed his fingers between Jhoira's legs. She gasped and arched her back in pleasure, throwing her head back and displaying her neck in a graceful curve.

Both lovers were desperate with longing and need for one another. Jhoira stood and pulled Karn's pants downward, his fully erect manhood springing forth once the confining garment had made its way down a few inches. He raised his hips, and then kicked off his boots with the help of the toes of each opposing foot, to assist in their removal.

Once Karn had been divested of the last of his clothing, Jhoira took a step back, and after she had removed her boots, she pushed her own trousers down to her ankles. It was almost teasing in its slowness. She stood and stepped out of the puddle of cloth, and Karn could see a faint sheen of moisture on the uppermost part of her inner thighs.

Sitting astride Karn's lap, Jhoira guided him up to a sitting position. Their pelvises flush against each other, their lips met again in a deep kiss. Hands ran through hair both silver and black, over arms and backs both icy and warm in color. When next they parted for breath, black eyes met indigo and Jhoira led Karn down atop her this time, knees still spread to allow him to press the full length of his body against hers.

Before his transformation, Karn could never have lain so entwined with anyone; he had been far too heavy for such a thing. In that moment of realization of what this new body had made possible, he felt tears of joy prick his eyes, and he kissed Jhoira once again in sweet gentleness.

She reached up to his face to stroke his cheek with her left hand while the right moved between them to grasp his hard length. Looking into his eyes she said again, "I love you, Karn," as she slid him inside of her.

It was a feeling unlike any either had ever experienced before, and new warmth and pleasure rippled through both as they held each other close. After a minute of savoring the experience, Karn began to move within Jhoira. He withdrew almost completely before sliding back in, taking care to run the length of his shaft along the bundle of nerves that nestled at the top of her opening. It was an amazing sensation, and both lovers moaned in ecstasy, eyes rolling back in their heads, as he continued moving.

With every gliding stroke, the warm pressure within each grew. Lips and tongues met hungrily, and hands ran over bare backs and through hair. Finally, it became too much to hold back, and Jhoira's back arched, her hips bucking violently against her lover's. The hard thrust of her pelvis sent Karn over the edge, and he spilled his seed deep within her, calling her name out loud as he climaxed.

Exhausted, the two lay entangled on the cot, breathing hard and trembling with aftershocks of pleasure. Even once their strength had returned, Karn and Jhoira remained in place, simply enjoying the comfort of each other's presence. After all they had been through, they had finally truly found each other, and they didn't want it to end.

As the sun began the last leg of its journey toward the horizon, the light gleamed along the skin of the new couple, one almost seeming to be made of silver, the other of gold.


End file.
